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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29498772">More of a Man</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/queensburner/pseuds/queensburner'>queensburner</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Illnesses, Implied Sexual Content, Weight Gain, Weight Issues</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:14:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,088</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29498772</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/queensburner/pseuds/queensburner</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaito’s shirt was damp with sweat despite having not done anything of note.  He shed the fabric, dropping it to the floor as he examined himself in the mirror.  The extended periods of boredom-eating and lack of activity had been unkind to his body.  He had been proud of the toned body and sculpted muscles that had come from his astronaut training, then from his workouts with Maki and Shuichi.  But that body was gone.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>More of a Man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito grit his teeth, trying his best to push down the self-loathing that was bubbling just below the surface.  For as much as he could always encourage his friends, he had trouble helping himself.</p><p>His illness had kept him confined to the apartment he and Maki shared for weeks now.  There was nothing he could do about it, and it made him feel so weak.  The small space, being home alone most of the day while Maki was busy, made him feel like he was losing his mind.  These bouts of sickness had kept him inside for periods of time before, but never for this long.</p><p>And during those times, he inevitably ended up spending his days snacking.</p><p>Kaito’s shirt was damp with sweat despite having not done anything of note.  He shed the fabric, dropping it to the floor as he examined himself in the mirror.  The extended periods of boredom-eating and lack of activity had been unkind to his body.  He had been proud of the toned body and sculpted muscles that had come from his astronaut training, then from his workouts with Maki and Shuichi.  But that body was gone.</p><p>He wasn’t sure how much weight he had gained.  He felt too much shame and guilt to even go close to the bathroom scale.  That only made him feel all the weaker, but he couldn’t bring himself to confront it.  He turned back to the mirror.</p><p>Where he had had a toned stomach, Kaito now sported a small potbelly.  His formerly muscular pecs looked soft and effeminate.  What, he wondered, had happened to his strong and masculine appearance?</p><p>He shivered, remembering the first time he and Maki had made love.  It had taken her a long time for her to feel ready, but he would have waited millennia for her.  Kaito had held her gently in his arms, and she had worshipped his muscles, ravishing and kissing every inch of his body.</p><p>She had been distant, careful around him ever since his illness had worsened.  She had said that she didn’t want him to overexert himself, and he knew in his brain that she wouldn’t lie to him, that she wouldn’t stop finding him attractive.  Still, he couldn’t help but feel like less of a man because of it.</p><p>Distantly, he heard the lock mechanism turn at the front door.</p><p>“Kaito?”  Maki’s voice rang out through their small apartment.  He scrambled with his shirt, trying to get it back on before she found him, but he was too late.  She rapped at the bathroom door with her knuckles before entering.</p><p>“Hey, Maki Roll,” he tried to force a cool smile onto his face.</p><p>Maki’s eyebrows knit together in concern.  “What’s wrong.  Are you okay?”</p><p>“Of course,” he shrugged casually, “I’m fine.  Now come here.”  He pulled her closer by the shoulders and kissed her.  She leaned in, seeming to accept the affection, when–</p><p>A coughing fit wracked Kaito’s body, forcing him away from Maki.</p><p>“Kaito!”  Maki dashed from the bathroom, returning a moment later with a glass of water.  She lifted it gently to his lips, and he took small sips.  When the coughing subsided, she grabbed a tissue and wiped the blood from his lips.</p><p>“Thanks,” Kaito murmured softly, but he couldn’t force himself to meet her eyes.</p><p>Maki cupped his chin in her hand, rubbing a thumb gently along his scruffy jawline and guiding his face to look at her.  “Tell me what’s wrong,” her voice was soft, but she said it firmly enough to let him know that it was not up for debate.</p><p>He ran a hand through his hair.  “I feel. . .” he trailed off for a moment as he searched for the correct word, “undesirable.”</p><p>“What?  Do you want to die?”  Her harsh words conflicted with the tender way that she wrapped her arms around him.</p><p>Kaito’s hand caressed her side and came to rest against his own stomach.  “I already feel so useless for not being able to fight off this stupid disease, not being able to go to the gym with you and Shuichi.  And now it’s hard to deny that I’ve gotten chubby.  And I know you’re just looking out for me, but I just worry that you won’t find me as attractive anymore.”</p><p>For a long time it had been difficult for Kaito to communicate his feelings.  Though he loved his grandparents, he recognized that they had raised him with some regressive ideas that still haunted him, among them that it was unmanly to talk about your emotions.  Maki and Shuichi had been helping him work through those ideas, and that was just one of the thousands of reasons he was grateful for them.</p><p>“Idiot.”  Maki’s eyes were fixed on the ground near their feet, and it was difficult to tell if she was talking about herself or him.  “I wouldn’t think you were any less attractive just because of a few extra pounds.”</p><p>“B-but,” he interjected, “it’s hardly just a little bit.”</p><p>“Regardless,” her hands moved to cup his bare belly, “it doesn’t change how I feel about you.  I love you, Kaito.”</p><p>“I love you too, Maki Roll.”</p><p>She graced him with a rare smile.  “Like you’re one to talk about rolls,” she playfully pinched the bit of belly that stuck out past his waistband, then kissed him on the cheek.  “Now come on, you need some rest.”  Maki pulled him along into their bedroom.</p><p>Together, they laid down.  Maki wrapped her arms around Kaito once again, her hands touching the soft flesh of his belly and her face buried in the nape of his neck.  She breathed his scent in deeply.</p><p>“Hey, Kaito?”</p><p>“Yeah, Maki Roll?”</p><p>“I,” she hesitated a moment, “I thought that I would never be able to be happy, live a normal life with people I care about.”</p><p>Kaito squirmed about until he flipped around to face her.  He seemed to recoil a bit as his stomach squished against her leanly muscular figure, but he leaned in closer anyway.  “Excuse me.  Are you implying that there’s anything normal about being with the Luminary of the Stars?”</p><p>She gave him a soft shove before pulling him back to her and kissing his cheek.  “Shut up.  You’re too cute.”  They laid there a little while longer before Maki rose from the bed.</p><p>“Maki,” Kaito whined, leaving off her nickname to emphasize his displeasure.</p><p>She took him by the hand and hauled him out of bed with her.  “Come on.  We’re making dinner.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Don't ask me when this takes place, I do not know.  Maybe they're in college, maybe they're adults, maybe this is post-Talent Development Plan, I don't know.  All I know is projecting onto Maki go brrr</p></blockquote></div></div>
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